Water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system

Abstract

A system for controlling the temperature of the drink cooling coil of a drink cooling system is disclosed. The system is a water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system having a water tank filled with water, a cooler in said tank, a drink cooling coil formed in an intermediate portion of a drink supply pipeline and an electric water agitator. The cooler is operated to cool the water in the tank by forming an ice bank around the cooler to accumulate heat in the tank, in order to cool a drink in the cooling coil. An agitator stopping means is provided which senses the temperature of the water in the tank and stops the agitator when said temperature is about 0° C., so that an over-cooling of water in the tank occurs generally only at the cooler, and not at the cooling coil, thereby preventing ice from forming inside the cooling coil.

We claim: 
     
       1. In a water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system having a water tank filled with water and a cooler disposed therein, a drink cooling coil formed at an intermediate portion of a drink supply pipeline, and an electric water agitator, said cooler being operated to cool the water in said tank to form an ice bank around the cooler and accumulate heat in the ice bank, a drink flowing through said drink cooling coil being cooled with the cooling water in said tank, the improvement therein comprising: an agitator stopping means for sensing, while said cooler is operated to cool the water in said tank and form an ice bank around the cooler, a decrease in the temperature of the water in said tank to a level higher than and in the neighborhood of its freezing point, and for stopping said agitator in response thereto.   
     
     
       2. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to claim 1, wherein said drink cooling system further includes: an agitator re-starting means for sensing the formation of an ice bank and for re-starting said agitator when said agitator is stopped.   
     
     
       3. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to claim 1, wherein said drink cooling system further includes: an agitator control means for operating said agitator in response to a drink supplying instruction independently of the operation of said agitator stopping means.   
     
     
       4. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to clim 1, wherein said agitator stopping means comprises: a thermostat having a temperature sensing portion capable of sensing the temperature of the water in said tank, and a control contact provided in a drive motor circuit for said agitator, said thermostat opening said control contact when the temperature of the water in said tank decreases to a level higher than and in the neighborhood of 0° C.   
     
     
       5. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to claim 2, wherein said agitator re-starting means comprises: a thermostat having a temperature sensing portion capable of sensing the temperature of a surface of said cooler, and a control contact provided in a drive motor circuit for said agitator, said thermostat closing said control contact when the temperature of a surface of said cooler decreases to a level indicating the formation of an ice bank around the cooler.   
     
     
       6. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to claim 2, wherein said agitator re-starting means comprises: an electrode type ice sensor including an electrode located in the vicinity of a surface of said cooler which senses the formation of ice based upon the difference between the electric resistance of water and the electric resistance of ice and outputs a signal when ice is formed in said vicinity, and a control contact provided in a drive motor circuit for said agitator which closes in response to an output signal from said ice sensor.   
     
     
       7. A water-cooled heat-accumulating type drink cooling system according to claim 3, wherein said agitator control means comprises: a relay which closes a control contact provided in a drive motor circuit for said agitator in response to a drink supplying instruction.